{"id":357047,"date":"2026-03-31T16:14:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/357047\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T16:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:14:07","slug":"hypnotic-cognitive-therapy-eases-pain-of-spine-injuries-uw-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/357047\/","title":{"rendered":"Hypnotic cognitive therapy eases pain of spine injuries – UW Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Six weekly, remote therapy sessions that combined hypnosis with cognitive therapy significantly reduced pain intensity, compared with usual clinical care, among patients with spinal cord injury. These results are reported in a new study at the\u202fUniversity of Washington School of Medicine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cNot only did the study show that this treatment is effective, but unlike most\u202fmedications used for pain, it is a treatment with many positive side effects,\u202flike improved sleep and a greater sense of self-control,\u201d said senior author Mark P. Jensen<\/a>,\u202fprofessor of rehabilitation medicine. \u201cI think that, based on the evidence, including the side-effect profile, this is the first treatment that people with chronic pain should be offered.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0The findings are published in the April 28 issue of Neurology, available now online.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0About two-thirds of\u202fpeople with spinal cord injury experience chronic pain that can significantly exacerbate their disability and diminish their quality of life. Such pain is typically managed with physical therapy and pain medications.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Previous research has shown that cognitive therapy can decrease the perception of pain. Cognitive therapy takes advantage of the fact that pain is perceived in the brain\u202fand can be modulated by a person\u2019s thoughts and beliefs. Negative thoughts, such as believing the pain will never go away, can intensify pain perception, while positive thoughts, such as believing pain relief is possible, can lessen it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0In this recent study, researchers examined\u202fwhether hypnosis could bolster the effects of cognitive therapy by making patients more receptive to suggestions aimed at changing thoughts and beliefs about pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cHypnosis helps patients be more open to ideas about changing their thinking and internalizing those ideas, so they become automatic,\u201d said first author Charles Bombardier<\/a>, a UW Medicine psychologist and professor of rehabilitation medicine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0For the study, Bombardier and his colleagues\u202fenrolled 127 patients with chronic pain due to spinal cord injuries. Their average age was\u202f51. On average, their injuries occurred about 15 years ago. The enrollees were randomly assigned to hypnotic cognitive therapy or to\u00a0a continuation of\u202fusual care.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0The therapy sessions were conducted by phone\u202for via Zoom by coauthor and research associate professor M. Elena Mendoza<\/a>, who specializes in hypnosis. In these\u202fhour-long\u202fsessions, Mendoza used hypnosis to induce a relaxed state of attentiveness\u202fintended to make patients\u202fmore open to suggestions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She then explored the patient\u2019s thoughts and beliefs about pain determined which notions improved or worsened the patient\u2019s experience. Using this information, she made suggestions to encourage thoughts and beliefs that beneficially\u00a0changed participants\u2019 perceptions about pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe identified both helpful and unhelpful thoughts but focused on reassuring thoughts that help alleviate their pain and enhance coping. Then we reinforced those in the hypnosis sessions,\u201d Mendoza said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Patients were provided recordings\u202fof each therapy session and were instructed to listen\u202fdaily and to practice self-hypnosis three times a day to reinforce the therapeutic suggestions. Patients were asked to assess their pain four times a week during the six-week study and during\u202fa\u202fsix-week follow-up period.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0At the study outset, participants were asked to rate their pain intensity on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 representing no pain and 10 the most severe pain they had ever experienced. The average score for the hypnosis-cognitive therapy group was\u202f5.99, compared with\u202f5.87\u202ffor the usual-care group,\u202fa difference that was not statistically significant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Participants who underwent hypnotic cognitive therapy reported that their pain intensity dropped to\u202f4.83\u202fat six weeks and further declined during the follow-up period to\u202f4.52\u202fat 12 weeks. These decreases were significantly greater than the decreases in pain at six (5.82) and 12 weeks (5.81) in the usual-care group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cA lot of psychological interventions wear off,\u201d said\u202fBombardier, \u201cbut in this case the effect had actually increased at 12 weeks \u2014 six weeks after treatment had stopped.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Depression severity also declined significantly more in the hypnotic cognitive therapy group versus the control group. At 12 weeks, pain interference dropped significantly more in the treatment versus control group. At six weeks, sleep disturbance also declined significantly more with hypnotic cognitive therapy. Hypnotic cognitive therapy was equally effective whether delivered by Zoom or telephone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Overall, the therapy was well received, with\u202f90%\u202fof participants in the therapy group saying they were satisfied or very satisfied with treatment,\u202f35%\u202freporting their pain was much or very much improved,\u202f50%\u202fsaying that their ability to manage pain was much or very much improved, and\u202f46%\u202freporting a clinically meaningful reduction in pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cPain affects almost every aspect of these patients\u2019 lives, so it was great to see that after just six sessions conducted over six weeks, they were able to make so much progress,\u201d Mendoza said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0A grant from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation<\/a> funded the study.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Written by Michael McCarthy\u00a0<\/p>\n

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